Balanced Health: Body, Spirit, Mind

Womens Soul Evolving

If you have read my bio—you know that I am an artist.  I teach middle school kids, which means I spend most of my life with 12 and 13 year olds….OK…so now you can feel sorry for me and buy my products…lol

Every once in a while, I force myself to take time and do some art pieces that are not in the middle school curriculum. Lately, I have been playing with watercolor/collages…in an abstract form.    It is eminently satisfying to see the end results, and makes me vow to take more time for my own creative processes.  I am validated again, and feel rejuvenated.

I know that being healthy is a balance of mind, body and spirit.  And these aspects make us into the unique person we truly are….but they are ALL equal parts of us….and sometimes we forget to take care of our minds and our spirits.  It is easy to focus on the body, because when we don’t, it tells us, in loud tones, that it is not happy.   But the spirit and mind speak in much softer tones, sometimes so softly that we don’t hear them at all….and then one day, we awaken depressed, anxious, bewildered….and we wonder what is wrong.

The Holidays are times that may awaken your spirit and mind….they may start talking louder to you, or perhaps you will have some time off in which to listen deeper to them.

Spirit loves…Spirit creates….Spirit desires beauty, kindness, forgiveness, caring….all the values that make us human…and that are there to guide us to the next level of human evolution….the evolution of the soul.  Be a seeker of light this season…

Mind is curious…Mind is hungry….Mind doesn’t want to be satisfied, it knows there is more out there…..and it desires to know more…. That false lull, that rut of routine just “drug” the mind into stasis….Mind does not really want to remain in equilibrium…..it wants to grow, stretch, be challenged….  Be that Mind that goes beyond the normal limitations of routine this season…

Take time during the Holidays to refresh your skills and talents, to share and learn, laugh and enjoy.  Read a good book, have a real discussion with a friend, visit a museum (even online), dust off an old talent….

Give your Spirit and Mind the gifts of your presence…..Be in the now.   Be healthy.  Be happy.  Be at ease.

Be blessed, Kersten

Norwegian Egg Coffee…and…Childhood Memories

There is something about Christmas time that brings out all the sweet childhood memories of days gone by.  I am 1/2 Norwegian, and I loved my mother’s side of our family.  Scandinavian people are warm, friendly, and hospitable to the point of death….  My mom was an only child….so we got no aunts nor uncles from her…but what she did give us was a flock of  great aunts and great uncles.

They were short and red cheeked…they loved to get together and they laughed loud and long.  They loved to drink their coffee, and they loved to get together and cook and eat and talk.

No one went hungry…ever…there were all kinds of cookies, bars and cakes…it was a child’s paradise.

About a month ago I saw an ad for an upcoming Scandinavian Christmas Festival at a Norwegian Seaman’s Church outside of Houston.  So I circled the date…and set off with Tom-Tom in the navigator’s seat…and found myself surrounded by the sights and sounds I had grown up with.

Memories of dancers and coffee....

Women in bunads, Norwegian music, embroidered tea towels, knitted slippers and hats and gloves, samples of pickled herring, goat cheese, cream cakes, and of course….coffee!

The smell of coffee is totally intertwined in my memories, and when I read reports that olfactory memories are often the strongest memories we have, I can totally concur.

My dad got up every morning and put on the coffee.  My grandmother had coffee on the stove from sunrise to sunset.  Coffee was not just the morning pick-me-up…it was the house beverage of choice.  There was coffee with every meal, coffee with every coffee break…coffee before bedtime….no insomniacs in my family tree.

Coffee was boiled, with a pinch of salt (hard water in the Midwest) and an egg…broken, crushed and stirred…YUP! the whole egg was put in the coffee pot, boilled, let to settle,  and viola!  You have the richest, clearest coffee you can imagine….I don’t know why…it just is the best you have ever tasted.

So when I find out that coffee is good for you, I just have to grin and figure that Grandma Louise and Great Aunt Mabel would be smiling too.

Some cool facts to shore up your unflinching faith in the morning cup of bliss!
* JUST DRINK 2-3 CUPS A DAY and presto! You’re 45% less likely to suffer from gallstones…

* RAISE IT TO 4 CUPS and you dramatically drop your risk of colon cancer (the second deadliest cancer in America)…

* WANT ONLY ONE CUP? Plug in the pot! Because just one cup of coffee packs the antioxidant power of three fresh oranges.

Women Vitamins salutes you with a good cup of coffee!

So raise your cup to our ancestors, who were smarter than we give them credit for…Mange Takk (Many Thanks!) Grandma …..I can see that twinkle in your eye as you sit in my memory, sipping your coffee in the morning sun.

Tis the Season…to Watch Your Weight

Holy Cow…the year is almost gone…the Holidays are upon us….and the partying mood is about to commence. This is the time of year when we over indulge our children, our wallets, and our stomachs. Then sadly repentant, we try to atone with New Year’s Resolutions that never fly…

So maybe it is time to remember to be more considerate of our credit cards and appetites, and have more joy now and less remorse later.

The American Institute for Cancer Research released some pretty upsetting data that links the propensity of certain types of cancer to excessive body fat… and remember that 30 pounds overweight is considered a BMI of 30, which falls under the obesity category.

Below are percentages of specific cancers attributed to obesity:

• Endometrial   49%
• Esophagial  35%
• Pancreatic  28%
• Kidney  24%
• Gallbladder  21%
• Breast  17%
• Colorectal  9%

The message is clear:  “Take care of yourself…Take care of your weight.”

That is the best holiday gift you can give to yourself and to those who care about you.

Enjoy the season in moderation…..if you splurge, don’t feel guilty…but don’t lose sight of the fact that you need to resume healthy choices….one splurge doesn’t have to be the excuse or justification for a month of bad behaviors.

• Take the best women vitamins that already has your essential vitamins and trace minerals factored in it.
• Exercise daily,
• Meditate and be grateful for the opportunities to share good times with friends and family.
• Don’t stress yourself out with unrealistic expectations…..

Above all,  don’t forget that it tis the season to be a living, healthy, happy gift…

Healthy Holidays from Women Vitamins

Being the Change

So, we are all trying to be more health conscious….trying to live our lives with purpose and intention, not just drifting through it all as if we have no ownership in this experience called life. And if you are like me, awakening to all the potentials, it is pretty humbling and awesome.

If I can sum it up, it seems as if there are stages of personal evolution at work here:

* we recognize that we need to be cognizant and responsible for ourselves and our actions
* we start to put this awareness into practice
* we try daily to expand our routines to include new behaviors and responses
* we open ourselves up to continuing the process by expecting and welcoming changes

So what  are we doing?  We are exercising, eating more natural foods, we are trying to moderate our stress levels, and we are being more spiritually aware of our place in the Universe.

I have started to substitute fresh fruits and vegetables for canned and frozen.  I have found a local farmers’ market where I do my best to support local organic farmers.  I now buy organic milk even though the price of a half gallon is equal to what I used to spend on a gallon of regular milk plus a pint of 1/2 and 1/2 for my coffee.  I also am buying cage free, brown eggs…and looking for organic beef from a small butcher store.

I have started eating more, smaller meals to accommodate the natural rhythms of my digestive system.  I am careful to feed my body the minerals and vitamins it needs as well.  And I supplement my traditional meals with effective and efficient protein shakes.  It is my belief that the body is a resilient yet sensitive  organism that WANTS to be balanced and healthy and whole….so I am trying my best to listen to it more closely, and I am surprised by how much it really tells me.

Black-eyed susans abound

I garden more and I relish the feel of soil in my hands.  I am also generously rewarded by the blooms that nature then provides. Planting is the ultimate act of faith, just ask any farmer….

I walk and bike around the neighborhood.  After having spent years on a Dakota farm, I miss the closeness with nature that used to be right out the farmhouse door….so I have discovered parks and nature preserves like Armand Bayou and Clear Creek Nature Center which allow a momentary escape from the urban scene.

I am meditating more, watching cable less.  I turn on my cd’s and Pandora more, and the commercial radio less.  I try not be compulsed by the news, and instead spend time sending positive thoughts of love and acceptance and kindness out into my life’s sphere and into the world.  I see many of my friends changing too… and some of my friends tease and laugh at me, but I know that we can be the change we want to see. Be blessed.

Mercury Rising and Halloween Chills

What’s spookier on the night of full moons and Halloween, than neighbors dressing up as Bravehearts, car mechanics, foxy ladies, pirates, cowboys, and bananas?

Me and my peeps on Halloween

Not much, except maybe that article on I read on the flu vaccine.   Now I know I wrote my last blog on the H1N1 flu, but since then, I have been reading about the actual process of making the vaccine.

I did not know that flu vaccines are cultivated in specifiic pathogen free environments…which makes sense.  Since flu vaccines are developed in eggs, and the eggs cannot be allowed to have other bacteria or viruses in the mix…However,

During the manufacturing process, antibiotics (neomycin, polymyxin B and gentamicin) are added to eliminate stray bacteria found in the mixture. The final solution can contain the following additives in any combination: Triton X-100 (a detergent); polysorbate 80 (a potential carcinogen); gelatin; formaldehyde; and residual egg proteins. In addition, many of the influenza vaccines still contain thimerosal as a preservative. Thimerosal (mercury) is being investigated for its link to brain injury and autoimmune disease. MomsAgainst Mercury.org

Oh great, I just got the common flu shot a few weeks ago….could that be why my hair seems to be thinning, and not the result of the sluggish economy and a 23 year old daughter?

Then I read further:

Hugh Fudenberg, MD, an immunogeneticist and biologist with nearly 850 papers published in peer review journals, has reported that if an individual had five consecutive flu shots between 1970 and 1980 (the years studied), his/her chances of getting Alzheimer’s Disease is ten times higher than if they had zero, one, or two shots.

Hugh Fudenberg, MD, is Founder and Director of Research, Neurolmmuno Therapeutic Research Foundation. Information from Dr. Hugh Fudenberg came from transcribed notes of Dr. Fudenberg’s speech at the NVIC International Vaccine Conference, Arlington, VA September, 1997.

Wonderful, so I know that I have had random flu shots since that first Swine Flu shot in junior high….Maybe I need to start looking for a heavy metal detox regime…..along with my women vitamins, exercise, sunshine and joy!

This injection of mercury into our delicately balanced bio-system, is also the theme of those who wonder if vaccines have contributed to the increasing and alarming rate of Autistic children found in our world….but that sounds like another blog..

Anyway, good night, Trick or Treat dreams to you….and watch out for heavy metals given to you “for your own good”.